Hi! My name is Allesanda Quaglino and I am a sophomore in Political Science concentrating in International Relations here at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Throughout high school in Covington, La, I was highly involved in various organizations. For my eighth grade through sophomore years of high school, I attended a medium sized all girls Catholic school with a class size of roughly 160. I performed in the Spring musical and participated in Hearts of Purity and Art Club but did not hold any leadership roles. Shy little me felt like just a number and it was intimidating. My junior year, I switched to a small Christian school down the road and became one of 54. No longer a number, I quickly became involved in anything I could. My junior year, I was a cheerleader and I planned Prom for the Seniors. My senior year, however, my resume grew dramatically. I became Senior Class President, Secretary of the Invisible Children Club, Yearbook Co-Editor, Football Photographer, Baseball trainer, wrote my school’s weekly article for the Times Picayune, and planned the best Variety Show in our school’s history all while working approximately 20 hours a week.
When coming to college, I wanted the same experience. I didn’t want to be just a number and I wanted to get involved. That is why I chose UL! Going through orientation, I felt the personal relationships everyone has on this campus. I wanted to be a Ragin’ Cajun and I wanted to get involved.
The first step I took to getting involved was to go through sorority recruitment. School hadn’t even started yet and I was already joining an organization. At the end of the week I ended up pledging and although it took me a year to take a leadership role in my sorority, I ended up holding two offices. Although I am not involved with the sorority anymore, the experience I took from it will never be replaced.
Having multiple sisters on the Student Orientation Staff and seeing how much fun they had, I decided to try out. One of the most exciting days of my college career so far was receiving that e-mail and finding out I had made staff. Having no idea what was in store for me on SOS, I entered the experience reluctantly. At the end of the experience, I felt I hadn’t given it my all so I applied to be on the Leadership Team. I was given that honor and am currently experiencing that journey.
In all of this, I have realized that college isn’t only about the grades, the classes, and the books. It’s about making relationships and networking and the easiest way to do this is to get involved in one of the many wonderful organizations on our campus. Since my term on SOS is over, I plan to get more involved in organizations such as Diamond Darlings, University Program Council, the International Studies Society, and possibly even start my own service organization. Joining organizations was the best decision I think I have ever made and I don’t think I would be where I am or who I am without the involvement experience.
Being that I am a Political Science major, I think that these leadership roles and my involvement on UL’s campus will help me in my future. Everything from class president in high school to Leadership Team will contribute to my growing as a leader and giving me the experience I need to be successful in my field of study. I plan to attend graduate school and eventually become an orientation director or dean of international affairs or another department on a college campus. Who knows where life will take me but I am confident that UL will prepare me well and give me countless opportunities to grow as a leader.